The invention relates generally to power-driven conveyors and more particularly to belt conveyors with guides having side walls that push conveyed articles.
Many conveyor applications require that conveyed articles be diverted laterally across or off the side of a conveyor belt. Fixed-position ejectors, tilt trays, and shoe sorters perform that function, but are noisy and can be expensive. Roller belts with article-supporting rollers freely rotatable on axes oblique to the direction of belt travel are used with a diverter bar extending across the belt to block the articles from advancing farther with the belt. The blocked articles cause the oblique rollers to rotate and push the blocked articles along the diverter bar and laterally across the belt. But roller belts are more expensive than typical conveyor belts without rollers.
Some conveyor applications require a side rail against which articles are registered. Typically, those side rails are static rails affixed to the conveyor frame. Friction between the articles being conveyed and the stationary side rails can cause the articles to rotate or can mar the sides of the articles.